How Dare You! - Part 4
"Good morning!" Nino greeted his friends in the pantry. He wanted to have a cup of coffee before he began working but when he entered the pantry, Jun, Aiba and Sho were talking merrily and it piqued his interest. Noticing that he still had 30 minutes before office hour began, he took a seat to join their heated conversation. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Gossiping about you and Ohno san," Jun answered rather bluntly. "We're making a bet,"
"Oh… what kind of bet?" Nino asked even though he kinda had an idea what it was about. Aiba had been asking him about it before.
"Well… you had been ignoring our boss. So, we wonder what nasty things he did to make you angry," Sho explained. "Or maybe you're angry because of a very stupid reason,"
Nino didn't say anything, only calmly sipping his coffee. It's true he hadn't talked to Ohno for things other than work. It's been two weeks now.
After Ohno had tricked him into paying for their meals, he decided to give the guy a silent treatment. Whenever he needed to talk with Ohno about work, he would make his face as blank as possible. If Ohno started to talk about things other than work, he would stay silent. Ohno would try to provoke him for a reaction by caressing him. However, unlike before, Nino remained calm and let his boss do as he pleased. And because there was no reaction from him, Ohno sighed in return and stopped touching him.
But, it didn't stop Ohno from trying to engage in a conversation with him. Every day, he would try a different method to make Nino talk with him but Nino simply ignored him. Truthfully, Nino enjoyed watching how desperate Ohno had tried to make a conversation with him. And he was even more delighted when he could turn the smile on Ohno’s face into a frown because of the way he treated Ohno. Serves him right! That’s what he deserved for tricking Nino.
"Amuse me with what you think, please," he drawled, wondering what stupid idea his friends might have.
"Well…" Aiba started rambling. "You ignored him after both of you went for lunch. So, I think he didn't bring you to a restaurant. Instead, he brought you to a hotel to… you know… to have…"
"Ewww!" Nino stopped Aiba from continuing. "That is so gross!"
"See…" Jun smacked Aiba's head. "I've told you. Ohno san is not that kind of person. I'm sure he's going to wait until Nino is ready,"
Nino wanted to argue with Jun on that. Ohno had shamelessly touched him without permission. So, there's a possibility that he might… urgh… Aiba is so stupid. Why did he plant this kind of thought in Nino's mind? It made Nino imagine something stupid.
"How about you, Sho?" He asked, shaking his imagination away. "What boring theory do you have?"
"My theory is not boring… it's the most sensible," Sho countered. Hmm… he doubted that. Sho is the resident nerd in their circle. He may be a sharp thinker but he always came up with the lamest idea. "There was a beautiful waitress and you saw Ohno talking to her. He probably asked where the washroom was but you thought he was flirting with her. So, now, you ignore him because you're jealous he looked at other girls during your date,"
Nino didn't know how to react. That is so lame, he couldn't even laugh when he heard that. Jealous? That would be the last thing to happen. He had no reason to be jealous at all.
Without saying anything, he shifted his attention from Sho to Jun, hoping that one of his friends could entertain him with something better.
"Jun, please… You're my last hope," Nino said dramatically. "Humor me with something better than these two,"
Sho rolled his eyes at Nino, certainly annoyed with the way Nino dismissed his thoughts.
"Don't worry. I'm sure my answer is the most accurate." Jun said with confidence. "I think it has something to do with money,"
"Hoho…" Nino looked at Jun with interest. "What makes you say so?"
"Well…" Jun grinned. His confidence certainly increased with the attention Nino gave him. "I saw Ohno san tried to give you money. But, you refused to accept it. I'm truly shocked when I saw that, Nino. I cannot believe you say no to money,"
Nino wasn't surprised to hear that. Jun was a keen observer. And it's true. Ohno had tried to pay him back a day after the incident. He had called Nino into the office... but... just like what Jun said, he didn't take the money. It wasn't about money. It's about his pride and dignity. And also something else.
Hmm… he wondered why Sho didn't notice that. Maybe he wasn't in the office when it happened.
"You seem to be moving in the right direction," Nino encouraged him to continue, causing Jun to smile triumphantly at Aiba and Sho. The other two could only whimper.
"Yosh!" Jun cheered. “I thought of two reasons,"
Two reasons? Let's see if Jun had really figured it out.
"One, maybe you have decided to be generous for the date." Oh, gosh. Nino tried to hide his smile because Jun was going to be wrong. "It should be your treat but you set a limit… well… you're stingy, after all. However, Ohno san ignored the limit and you have to pay more. That's why you're angry with him."
Nino shook his head. "Totally wrong,"
"Okay, this is my second theory…" Jun continued, still not ready to admit his defeat. "It should be his treat. You ordered something pricey because of that. But, when you're done eating, he told you that he forgot his wallet so you have to pay. And you're angry with him because he didn't tell you beforehand. If you know you have to pay for the meals, you will not order something expensive,"
Wow, he was impressed with Jun's deduction. It was almost correct. But, being a brat, he would not admit that. Besides, he had another reason for ignoring Ohno. He was angry at Ohno for tricking him but at the same time, he was also avoiding Ohno because… hmm… let's stop thinking about that.
"Well… I would say that was about… hmm… 65 per cent correct,"
"Eh? Really?" Jun was surprised. "Yatta! Which part was wrong, then?"
Nino didn't answer. He simply took his coffee and then walked to his seat. It's time to start working. Plus, if he stayed longer with his friends to talk about this, he might accidentally tell them that he had been tricked by Ohno. He didn't want his friends to know that. How mortifying it would be if they knew he had been tricked by someone like Ohno. And it would be even more embarrassing if they knew it had happened, not only once, but twice. Urgh, he couldn’t imagine the disgrace!
"Good morning,"
As he was reviewing the materials for his presentation tomorrow, Ohno walked in and greeted them. His friends returned the greeting. Nino, on the other hand, pretended not to hear it. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed how Ohno had pouted when he didn't respond to the greeting. Hmm… Ohno looked cute with…
Eh, cute? He shouldn't be thinking of that.
Urgh, to be honest, after Jun had told him his theory of how Ohno had forgotten his wallet during their lunch date, he had started to look at the incident with a different perspective. Maybe Jun was right. Maybe Ohno had forgotten his wallet and that’s why he had left without paying.
But… still… it didn’t justify why he had to trick Nino. Wouldn’t it be better if he had been frank about it if it’s the truth? Nino wouldn’t mind paying, as long as Ohno would pay him back. Why left him just like that? What if Nino didn’t have enough money to pay? Had he thought of how embarrassing it would be for Nino if that kind of thing happened? Certainly, he didn’t think of all that before he took off from the restaurant. So, nope! He would not forgive Ohno!
Nino was startled when he saw a waving hand in front of him. He couldn’t stop himself from squealing and it was embarrassing when he heard Aiba and Jun giggling. It was hard not to glare at Ohno when it was revealed the waving hand actually belonged to Ohno. Why did he startle Nino like that?
“Kazunari…” His heart skipped a beat with the soft way Ohno had said his name. Ohno hadn’t called him like that since he had been ignoring him, resorting to calling him Ninomiya instead. “Are you okay?”
Ohno looked at him with genuine concern, which made him wonder what had happened earlier.
“Yes, I’m okay…” He answered.
“Hmm… are you ready for your presentation tomorrow?”
Nino nodded his head.
“Okay, I want you to do a mock presentation for us first. I will give you 10 minutes to get ready,” Ohno instructed with a warm soothing voice. To be honest, Nino was worried that Ohno might revert to his old serious self when he started to ignore his boss. But, thankfully, that wasn't the case.
“Okay,” Nino said. Ohno then walked into his office. Nino watched his steps. Hmm.. something was wrong with Ohno, he could feel it. What was it? Did it have anything to do with the way Nino treated him?
“Stop staring, Nino,” Jun distracted him. “If you want to kiss him, just go and attack him,”
Nino ignored him. He was in no mood to entertain Jun right now.
“He must be sad because you didn’t answer him,” Aiba interjected. “He called you three times. But, there’s no response from you. That’s why he waved his hand in front of you. Ne, Nino, why are you spacing out just now? I never saw you like that,”
“I’m just worried about my presentation tomorrow,” Nino lied. “Well, I better get ready, then,”
Nino quickly walked away, bringing his laptop and notebook to the empty meeting room. It’s better for him to prepare for his presentation than thinking about Ohno.
The mock presentation went well. Once he was done, his colleagues, mostly Sho, had pointed out a few things that he could improve for the real presentation tomorrow. Ohno didn’t say much, only asked him to clarify a few ambiguous things in his presentation.
However, he could clearly see that something was bothering Ohno. Yes, he might look blank and expressionless as he always did. But, Nino somehow recognized the look of despair on Ohno’s face. Should he ask him about it? Hmm... maybe not. Perhaps this was Ohno’s tactic to make him talk again.
Sho, Aiba and Jun left the meeting room while he was checking his presentation slides, leaving him alone with Ohno. He tried not to tense when he noticed Ohno was walking towards him. But, Ohno didn’t say anything even though he had been standing in front of Nino. He lifted his head, trying to see what his boss was up to.
“Ninomiya…” His boss finally said something after he had looked at him in confusion.
“Yes, do you have something to say about my presentation?”
“Yes… it’s perfect. I’m sure our client will be impressed tomorrow,”
Well, it certainly wasn’t the thing Ohno wanted to tell him. Seriously, even though he didn’t want to talk with Ohno, he was curious to know what was bothering him.
“Anything else you want to tell me? Something that had nothing to do with my presentation?”
“Hmmm….” Ohno seemed to hesitate.
“If there’s nothing, I will go first,” He stood up, ready to leave the meeting room. But, Ohno grabbed his hand. Nino glared at him, causing him to quickly release Nino’s hand.
“I’m busy… just tell me if you need something,” He said, sounding cold. He wondered if he had intimidated Ohno with his tone in the same way Ohno had intimidated him before.
Ohno, then, took a deep breath before he asked Nino.
“Are you busy next Saturday? My mother invites you to have dinner with us,”
Nino really wanted to grin widely right now. But, of course, he wouldn't do it in front of Ohno. Ah, the moment for sweet revenge had finally arrived. He's going to savour every moment.
"Hmmm…" He scratched his chin, pretending to be thinking. "I'm not busy…"
He enjoyed watching how Ohno gulped, waiting for him to confirm that he would go to dinner with his family again.
"... But I don't want to go,"
Ohno was taken aback with his response. He gazed at him with a pair of puppy eyes, perhaps thinking that Nino might change his mind if he looked at him like that.
"Please…" Ohno pleaded.
Nino only stuck his tongue out in return, didn't care that he looked immature for doing so. Oh, the dejected look on Ohno's face right now… it's totally the best expression he had ever seen.
"You say no?" Aiba asked when they were watching a movie together at home. Nino felt the need to tell someone of his triumph today so he told Aiba about it. Furthermore, only Aiba knew about his meeting with Ohno's family.
"Of course," He said. "There's no way I'm going out with him again,"
"But… Ohchan looked so down today," Aiba lamented. "Don't you feel bad for him?"
Nino sighed. Aiba had a soft heart, it was expected he would easily pity someone else. But, Ohno is a Maou. There's no need to pity him. He reaps what he sows. If he didn't lie about Nino to his family, he would never be in this situation.
"If you feel bad for him, why don't you go with him?" Nino suggested. "Maybe you're the person he told me about,"
"Eh, what did he tell you?" Aiba asked curiously. "What person?"
Nino fidgetted on his seat. He didn't mean to tell anyone else about that.
"Nino… please tell me," Aiba urged him again when he didn't say anything. "I will not tell Matsujun and Sho chan about it. You know I can keep a secret, right? I didn't tell them about your meeting with Ohno's family at all,"
"It's nothing, Aiba," He sighed. "It's just… No... I cannot tell you. It's his secret,"
"Oh…" Aiba pouted. "Then, can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Did you ignore Ohchan because you're angry with him or it had something to do with the secret you refuse to tell me about?"
The question took him by surprise and he didn't know what to answer. He could just say it had nothing to do with his anger towards Ohno but he had a feeling that Aiba would know he was lying.
"I don't want to answer," He decided. If he answered, he might reveal something else to Aiba. Something he didn't understand yet.
But, it was the wrong move. Aiba was smiling at him, in a creepy way, as if he knew what was bothering him.
"So, what he said affected you, right? Did he tell you he likes you?"
"Ewww… he didn't say he likes me. He said he realized he's a gay recently because he likes a guy,"
Nino immediately closed his mouth when he realized what he had said. But, it was too late. He had told Aiba everything and his idiot friend beamed at him. Damn! How did he become so stupid? If he was tricked by Jun or Sho, he wouldn't care much… but, this is Aiba. Ah, what is wrong with him?
"Did you ask him who that person is?"
"No…" He said quickly. "I don't care who that person is. He can like anyone he wants. And, Aiba chan, I want to clarify something. I ignored him because I am angry at him. This thing has nothing to do with it,"
"Nino…" Aiba said, stroking his back. "It's not good to keep lying. Tell me, how do you really feel when he tells you he likes someone?"
Geez, Aiba is so nosy. He didn't want to answer that. But, he found it difficult to ignore Aiba when his friend was looking at him with concern. Seriously, he should disregard this feeling but something at the back of his mind was telling him to share it with Aiba.
"I feel…" He tried to look for the right word to describe his feelings. "I'm not happy to know he likes someone because I know I am not that person,"
This was so weird. He never talked about his feelings before.
"Do you think…" Aiba asked. His voice was filled with kindness. "... that you feel like this because you like him?"
He didn't answer Aiba. He only stared at his friend, thinking of things that maybe he already knew the answer.
"I need to do something," He told Aiba. He stood up, took his phone and went to his room.
Wait… was he really going to do this? He hesitated as he stared at the number on his phone. Should he really call him?
However, before he could decide what to do, he received a call from the person he was thinking about. He was surprised but answered the call, nevertheless.
"Hello, Ohno san. What do you want?" He asked. He could hear Ohno gasping from the other end, perhaps because he didn't expect Nino would answer his call.
"Ninomiya, thank you so much. I'm so happy you answered my call," Ohno said, sounding relieved.
"Well, if I didn't answer, you might call me again. So, what do you want?"
"Well… I want to apologize. I shouldn't do that to you. It was really immature of me…"
"Are you apologizing because you want me to have dinner with your family?"
"No…" Ohno quickly denied. "It's okay… I will just tell them we broke up… or I could just tell them the truth. They will be sad no matter what I tell them. They really like you,"
"If you don't want to make them sad..." Nino took a deep breath before he continued. "Why don't we make it real?"
Poll
A/N: The world is a scary place right now. I'm really worried. Everyone, please take a very good care of yourself. After the news about Shimura Ken, I'm really worried for Arashi. Hopefully, they are fine.
Anyway, I hope this part is not weird. Usually, I will ask for opinion from a friend before I posted. But, I didn't do so this time. I really hope this is okay. Thank you for participating in my poll and comments are very much appreciated :)